Reviews tagging 'War'

Il principe crudele by Holly Black

125 reviews

alliemikennareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

This book started off slow and it took me about 1/3 to get invested, but once it finally picks up I was hooked and loving the characters and the slow build to all the threads. There’s some really great banter amidst this slow burn enemies to lovers (ish) trope with lots of lying, betrayal, strategy and trickery befit for a faerie world. Can’t wait to dive further into the series! 

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2blueshoes's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


1. pacing is slow for most of the book, but there is enough complicated intrigue and weird world building to keep you reading. 

2. It does not feel like a story or world that I have read in fantasy before, and that’s hard to do. I enjoyed that. 

3. Romance is basically non-existent in this book, but it does feel like a very long and elaborate set up for future romance in other books maybe? If anything this is really a political intrigue book with a very subtle romance subplot. If that’s your jam, you’re going to love this. 

4. The person I am fairly sure is the future hero is A LITERAL ASSHOLE for 99.9% of the book. Like zero redeeming qualities, not even described as attractive? If you aren’t patient with very long redemptive arcs for characters, or if you can’t tolerate not knowing who the true love interest is, maybe skip this book. 

5. The heroine feels really young and also not particularly moral???  Like she is decidedly not justice-motivated. She seems really immature and self interested at times. This makes for a surprising read if I’m honest and I think we will watch her develop a lot in the books. This book feels a bit like a prequel somehow?

6.
The hero has a tail
and it is unforgivable. Although I guess it has some sort of symbolic meaning in future books, but to me it’s just a step too far. Yuck. 

7. I would have given up on this book entirely if it wasn’t for some really surprising shit that goes down around the chapter 26 mark that had me WTF-ing all over the place. It’s like it suddenly turned into the book I wanted it to be. The last four chapters are, in my opinion, amazing. They had me on the edge of my seat. I hope they reflect what future books will be like. 

Oh, final thought: I think listening as an audiobook kinda made this book worse for me than it was, because the narrator didn’t do distinct voices for the characters, and it made it really confusing. Would recommend reading it as a book.

Lots of content warnings on this one. 

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tinyarthoe's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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nonidude's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

A good series start! I knew a twist was coming, but didn't have it figured out, so that's fun. :) The violent scenes are done well and explain the situation clearly without being overly grotesque. Excited to see how things progress!

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patchthecat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is my favourite book. I hadn't read fantasy in a long time, so this one being my first in a while made me fall in love with it again. Absolutely loved the characters. I really can't describe the love I have for this book, Holly Black's writing, and the plot twists.
The plot twist at the end of Cardan being crowned surprised me. I honestly didn't see it coming.

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kymboh78's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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yarnarh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the story. The human being dragged to fae land to live. The story line was intriguing enough from the start for me to continue reading. I love how the writer is descriptive of the world they are building but not to the point of losing the plot.

Some authors would write pages of descriptions and I would be lost about what the plot is. I love the way they write. Few sentences and then move on to the plot. Love the twist and turns though I suspected most of them before it happened. 

BookTok was right about this book. It was good and I enjoyed it.

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aysha_blake's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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its_kievan's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Even going into The Cruel Prince knowing that it wasn’t my kind of book, the first half draaaagged. Jude is a frustratingly passive character, which makes sense as someone living in a constant state of fear but also doesn’t make for a very compelling story. But when the plot finally kicks in, and Jude starts actually doing things instead of just talking about them, I was genuinely engaged in what was happening. Not enough smut, though (rest in peace ACOTAR).

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sop17hie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0


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